Employment Agencies suck

[JoitheArtist]

I didn't use to feel this way. My previous experiences with two different employment agencies had been great: go in, interview, take a few tests, get submitted for jobs within the week.

But now...

First of all, since I've been unemployed for over a year, they have to do more background/past employment checks than they would otherwise. Ok, I get that. But it takes forever.

Secondly, and this is my main problem, they won't call me back!!

I went to the first one in late December; it's a pain to get to by bus, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. They took my info, set me up with some tests, and told me they'd be sending me some to do at home. Great! I get home, and 2 days later (I'd gone in on Friday), on CHRISTMAS EVE, the agent calls me and asks me to rush through the tests, because she wanted to submit me for a job. I'm not happy about rushing the tests, and didn't do as well as I like on some of the trickier Excel stuff, but still well within competent range.

I hear nothing. I call back, no response. I finally get a call on January 14, as I'm getting on a bus; I let it go to voicemail because I can't hear anything on the bus, plus I don't have anything to write with, and I don't like using my phone in public. I return the agent's call as soon as I get home...nothing.

I proceed to call the agent several times a week for TWO WEEKS, as well as email once or twice, and get no response. I even sent an email to the general office account, asking if something was wrong. No response.

After 2 months, I gave up and contacted a new agency. This one seemed to be going well; my test scores were great (all 90th percentile or above on word processing and Excel), and the agent assured me that working around my lack of car wouldn't be a problem.

But it takes forever for them to contact my former employers. Evil boss (Sorority Girl, from my epic-length thread in MiM) will not respond to them, or to me, and it's only with great effort they can contact my supervisor-before-SG at the same company. They need me to fax in a bunch of unemployment documents to prove how long I've been unemployed, which means borrowing my housemate's car and driving to the Kinko's 20 minutes away.

FINALLY, they tell me I have everything they need, and that my agent will contact me. That was a month ago. My agent won't call me back, and is always busy when I try to call. I'm going to send an email tomorrow, just asking if everything is ok with my information.

What the hell? Have I been blacklisted? Did SG contact them and tell them I was a terrible worker? (I would NOT put it past her.) I can contact another agency, but I've gotten the last of my current unemployment extension funds, and don't know if there are more coming. I'm at my wits' end!

[Pixilated]

Did you by any chance mention -- keeping it carefully professional, of course -- your problems with your previous boss? Even if you didn't, I'd like to think an agency would be wary of taking one ex-boss's condemnation over several ex-boss's commendations.

I realize it's a pain with no car, but can you physically get back to those agencies at some point? I think I'd want to do a face-to-face and ask them WTF is going on. Have they lost all your info and don't want to admit it? Do they have nothing for you at this time? If so, are they at least keeping your file open?

Whatever is going on, you deserve some answers.

[smileyeagle1021]

This agency wouldn't happen to start with an A and rhyme with gecko would it?
I had the experience of them telling me I had been hired on at a place, gave me a start date, the Friday before I was supposed to start they called and told me the start date had changed to be a week later, then on Wednesday called me to inform me that I had been terminated for two consecutive no call no shows on Monday and Tuesday.
Then a second agency, also starting with A (what is it with agencies starting with the letter A) I interviewed at told me point blank that I was wasting my time with them, that if they didn't have a policy to interview all applicants they would have never called me in.
Another one told me that even with a college degree I was dreaming if I thought they were getting me anything better than seasonal filing jobs.
And finally (and remember that all these agencies start with A... seriously, what the hell is it with that letter) had one that sent me to an interview, called me afterwards, said I had been hired, called me back and said, oh sorry, we were mistaken, no you weren't, then called me again to say that no, the mistake was a mistake, I had indeed been hired (I didn't take the job, it would have required me to cancel an interview that I had already travelled 500 miles to go to, and I didn't want to drive 500 miles back just to be told, oops, no we really did make a mistake, we didn't hire you).
And people ask why I refuse to deal with staffing agencies now

[smileyeagle1021]

Though Nevada Job Connect takes the cake, when I checked in my first visit there the secretary asked me if I had a drivers license, I replied that indeed I did have one, and she replied "well, you should stop wasting time here and go over to the RTC office to apply for a bus driver position, they have a training class starting in a few weeks."
When I explained that I was not interested in that type of work, that I have a degree in accounting, so that is what I want to work in, her response was "well, I'll sign you in, but with an attitude like that, it's no wonder you're unemployed."
Oh, and the job counselor wasn't much better, when going over the job listings one came up for a labratory that is somewhat controversial, and she said that she would understand if I wasn't comfortable applying there, and I replied "oh, I recognize that lab, my aunt's company does the quality control audits for them, they are completely above board", conversation went back and forth about how I could be okay working for a place that does expirements on animals (which I won't go into details on, because that would devolve into fratching territory really quickly) and then refused to help me any further.

[JoitheArtist]

One of the agencies does indeed start with A (it's a fruit and a number), but I'd had high hopes for them: they got me my last job. Granted, that job was with my old insane company, but I did work there for nearly 6 years. I'd almost prefer to have them tell me I'm not hireable than keep me in this ridiculous silence. If I'm wasting my time with them, I want to know, dammit! Argh. I get that it's hard to find work right now, but seriously? No-one in north Orange County needs data entry? Really?

[SongsOfDragons]

The agency I'm with has stopped doing long-term posts -their longest job is three months - and they see nothing wrong with throwing untrained temps into vulnerable people protection departments where the permanent members of staff get extra days off and small bonuses for having to deal with difficult cases. They also pay minimum wage - thank deity for the legislation in this country that brings temps' wages up to the going rate for your work in your office after twelve weeks' employment.

I was also told recntly that all the multitude of temp jobs on my CV is a bad thing as it shows I can't keep a job. This is directly at odds with what I was told after I left uni; that temping was a great way of building experience. I'm desperately looking for a permanent job through the work programme. I'm fed up of being treated like a thick, utterly stupid and unteachable slave who is expected to come already trained on local procedure and with the ability to read minds. Fuck employment agencies!! Preferably anally and sideways with a cactus!!

[mjr]

I've dealt with my share of employment agencies. I've never ever gotten a position through a staffing agency -- ever.

On a few occasions, I've had a mind to actually tell them that when they call. "Don't waste my time." Unfortunately, you almost have to be nice to them, because more and more employers are using staffing agencies to make hires.

Some staffing agencies are even using India-based call centers, I think, to do "pre-screening" of calls before the actual account person takes over. Either that, or there are an inordinately high number of technical recruiters that are Indian.

Another problem is, I found out that sometimes recruiters at some of these companies will post bogus jobs, just to get resumes!

I hate the whole "jumping through hoops" thing with recruiters/employment agencies, too. If you think I'm a fit for a position, call me and tell me. Send over my resume to them, and let them decide.

I hate the "oh, I have to meet you first" thing (I've had this happen several times. My response is generally (to myself): "No, you don't."

Why? Because they don't actually have to. They want to.

[Tama]

I must live in a bad area for jobs. I went to a staffing agency that used to be known by Greek letters. There are generally two places I can get jobs with little experience...a USA post (fake name) mail sorting facility, or a factory (the one I passed out it).

They're nice but I wish they'd have more!

[NorthernZel]

I was also told recntly that all the multitude of temp jobs on my CV is a bad thing as it shows I can't keep a job. This is directly at odds with what I was told after I left uni; that temping was a great way of building experience.

I always note on my CV whether one of my positions were temporary or not. If a potential employer would ask about that, I would sincerely ask: "Well, would you rather hire me if I spent a year on the couch waiting for a permanent position instead?" It doesn't always guarantee an invitation to a job interview, but it surely guarantees a lot of spluttering on the other end of the phone

[MoonCat]

the multitude of temp jobs on my CV is a bad thing as it shows I can't keep a job

Any employer who doesn't understand how TEMP jobs work is so stupid you wouldn't want to work for them anyway.

[smileyeagle1021]

A solution to the multiple short jobs through a temp agency that my mom found was that she just listed her employment as with the temp agency (after all, that is who sent her the paycheck) and made a note of her full time equivalency to account for any down time... so it didn't look like she worked 6 jobs over 2 years, it showed that she worked 2 years at 85% FTE.

[Gizmo]

I was also told recntly that all the multitude of temp jobs on my CV is a bad thing as it shows I can't keep a job.

Amalgamate them into one 'role' and list the main roles covered in the bullet points. Essentially make yourself look like a professional temp. (Even if they are with different agencies)

[ADeMartino]

Sadly, this is a sign of the times. Temp work is like any other job - meaning that there are only a handful of positions, and easily ten times as many applicants. So, just like traditional employers, they really do get to pick and choose, and you're often subject to the petty whims of the recruiters.

Remember, they're making money on the temps' work - and they won't necessarily send the most experienced person to fill a position. They'll send the most profitable.

Here's how it works:

You have two candidates for a temporary position. One has 8+ years experience doing this job, the other is right out of school. Which one gets the gig? The one right out of school, most of the time. Why? The one with 8+ years experience is more likely to get a permanent job offer, and will therefore probably leave before the contract term expires. The inexperienced one, on the other hand, will likely accept a lower wage offer and is less likely to be offered a permanent job. Yes, he/she isn't as experienced as the other candidate, but if they're fresh out of school, they probably know just enough to make do.

It's not unheard of for agencies to sabotage their own temps, by the way. Anything to stay 'in the loop' with a client. Think about it - if the temp survives the contract term and gets hired on, the agency loses the revenue from that temp. The best way to keep that from happening is to get another temp in there before the contract term expires. You win TWICE because the temp you torpedoed is now available for a different assignment. All perfectly legal, because if you read that thick stack of papers they have you sign, you'll discover that the agency has the power to terminate your contract 'at will' - that is, they don't even need to give a reason. I'm not saying ALL agencies do this, but it's probably a higher percentage than you think.

In addition to this, I'm reasonably certain that the agencies get a tax break or some sort of 'incentive' from the government based on the number of 'employees' they have on file - working or not - because they are unusually eager to get new applicants when they admittedly have no work available. Some lawyer-concocted exploitation of a loophole, no doubt.

Yeah, I know - I sound like a conspiracy theorist. But remember, these temp agencies aren't on YOUR side. They'll do anything and everything to make a dollar. If there's a dispute between a temp and the client - even if the client is dead wrong about something - the temp will get pulled off the assignment and replaced rather than actually address the problem. I've witnessed this firsthand.

[mjr]

Sadly, this is a sign of the times.

<snip>

Yeah, I know - I sound like a conspiracy theorist. But remember, these temp agencies aren't on YOUR side. They'll do anything and everything to make a dollar. If there's a dispute between a temp and the client - even if the client is dead wrong about something - the temp will get pulled off the assignment and replaced rather than actually address the problem. I've witnessed this firsthand.

How do I put this in a Politically Correct way??

Hmmm...

Would this explain the inordinately high seeming number of Indian-sounding "recruiters" (especially for technical positions)? Are they using Indian call centers/contacts for preliminary screenings, now? I've had several leave messages on my cell phone after I applied to a position on a job board. Some of them were difficult to understand, and none of them got a callback.

[ADeMartino]

How do I put this in a Politically Correct way??

Hmmm...

Would this explain the inordinately high seeming number of Indian-sounding "recruiters" (especially for technical positions)? Are they using Indian call centers/contacts for preliminary screenings, now? I've had several leave messages on my cell phone after I applied to a position on a job board. Some of them were difficult to understand, and none of them got a callback.

I believe the politically-correct term is 'outsourced their call centers'. I think the whole world knows now where most call centers are outsourced TO.

Personally, I don't know of many temp agencies that actually use 'call centers'. Most deal with employment via their various chain offices.

HOWEVER,....

I've discovered that many temp agencies may share your contact information as another way to generate revenue - one more reason they're so eager for new applicants when they don't have enough jobs to go around. Those calls you're getting may be for something OTHER than employment. Education and student-loan scams are fairly common, as are 'free cell phone' offers (which are also mostly scams). Setups like these may indeed be profitable to run from a foreign call center.

I've even had people contact me pretending to be recruiters - only to give themselves away with questions regarding the above 'continued education', 'student loan', and 'free cell phone' offers. (seriously, what recruiter gives a crap about whether or not you have, or want, a 'free cell phone'?).

Oh, and let's not forget the 'you've been selected for a special offer' setups.